Preview | Rotherham United v Swansea City
Swansea City travel to Rotherham United for their 2022-23 Championship opener this afternoon (3pm).
Russell Martin’s side will be looking for a good start to the new season, while the Millers – who have found themselves either promoted or relegated in each of the past seven seasons - will be hoping victory at home on the opening day can kickstart a campaign to break that trend and help them retain their second-tier status.
Team News
Ben Cabango completed 60 minutes in an under-21s match last weekend following his recovery from an ankle injury sustained in April, and he will be part of the squad making the journey to south Yorkshire.
But Joe Allen will miss out as he recovers from the hamstring injury he picked up while on international duty with Wales this summer.
Liam Walsh is the only long-term absentee – he sustained an Achilles injury in pre-season – and there are no fresh injury concerns for head coach Russell Martin.
New signings Harry Darling, Nathan Wood and Matty Sorinola are all in line to make their Swansea debuts.
Pre-match views
Russell Martin:
"Any first game is difficult. It doesn’t matter who the opposition is, it’s always tough.
"[Rotherham] have a very clear identity, they know what they’re about, they make it difficult for teams, especially at home.
"We’re much better prepared than we were this time last season.
"We’re in a better place than we were last season. We’re really happy with the players we’ve got. We really believe in the group.
Paul Warne:
"We just have to try to attack the league with a smile and an enthusiasm.
"[We have to] stop worrying about what we haven't got and concentrate on what we have got, and that's how I'm going to approach the season.
"Every manager has problems at every club. We're all trying to get ourselves as prepped as we can, sign as many as we can and be as strong as we can."
Remember the last time?
Swansea City were 3-1 winners on their last visit to the New York Stadium in January 2021 – claiming what was their fourth consecutive victory away from home.
First-half goals from Conor Hourihane and Matt Grimes put the visitors in command.
Rotherham pulled one back through Freddie Ladapo after the break, but substitute Jay Fulton made an immediate impact from the bench to restore the two-goal buffer and secure the points.
Prime Numbers
2 – Matt Grimes really enjoys playing against The Millers. The skipper has scored in the previous two meetings with the club.
3 – The Swans have won their last three contests with Rotherham with an aggregate score of 8-4. However, prior to that, they’d only managed one win in eight league meetings.
6 – Joel Piroe is hoping to carry his red-hot pre-season form into the opening league game. He scored six goals in six friendly games for the Swans this summer.
14 – Rotherham and Swansea have been familiar foes over the years. They were in the same league for 14 consecutive seasons throughout the 1950s and 60s, and met regularly throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s too. Since 2002, however, there have only been four occasions when they’ve competed in the same league, with 2022-23 being the fifth.